


chasing you

by hak



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-05 16:52:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17328830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hak/pseuds/hak
Summary: "I just wanted you to chase me, Momota-chan."





	chasing you

Momota was a follower of the saying “Early to bed, early to rise.”

The morning air was always the best, in Momota’s opinion. With remnant whiffs of the night chill and the increased adrenaline in his veins, a quick lap or two around the school was a part of his morning routine. Sometimes he was accompanied by Saihara, but most of the time not, as it turned out the detective wasn’t much of a morning person. Getting Saihara out the door took more time than it would for Momota to complete the run on his own, and he didn’t want his sidekick to be restless after all.

Lately, however, Momota had been considering canceling his morning runs, because if he didn’t, he’d be having his daily run twice a day.

“Ouma, get back here!”

Ouma sprinted up the stairs with Momota in tow, skillfully skipping up each step and giggling all the while. “Catch me if you can, Momota-chan!”

Once reaching the top, Ouma skid into the hallway of the third floor and rounded the corner, and Momota did the same. The students in the hall watched the two of them; some sported alarmed faces as they barely escaped getting trampled, others looked mildly concerned, and a select few viewed the scene as if it were a circus show. But all the students were about used to the pair’s antics by now. This wasn’t their first game of cat and mouse. The fourth? Fifth? Also, was it just him or was Ouma getting farther?

No, it wasn’t just him. Ouma peeked over his shoulder with a grin that read he was aware of the increasing distance between them. Completely unfazed by the menace radiating from his predator’s face, Ouma stuck his tongue out and brandished overhead a jacket — _Momota’s_ jacket.

“Ehhh? It seems Momota-chan doesn’t want his jacket back?” Ouma said.

“Shut up!” Momota panted. “I’ll catch up to you soon enough!”

“Ten years isn’t very soon.”

“Why you little—! Just wait until I get my hands on you!”

Ouma’s grin spread wider, and he cupped his mouth with his free hand. “Oooh, what’s Momota-chan going to do to little ol’ me? Be gentle, okay?”

Momota disregarded the other’s suggestive tone, knowing better than to take it seriously. He made the mistake before and was teased relentlessly by Ouma for the subsequent three days. But still, he couldn’t fight the heat rising in his cheeks; all he could do was hope the view wasn’t clear all the way from where Ouma was.

This was probably their highest record yet. They’ve been circling through school since the beginning of lunchtime: nearly half an hour now, and Momota was looking to end it right now.

After turning another corner, the dead end came in sight. Momota saw Ouma halt for a split second, but with nowhere else to run, Ouma still proceeded. They soon hit the inevitable wall, and Ouma backed up against it with the jacket clutched in his arms. Momota hated to say he looked almost… adorable like this. Like a vulnerable kitten backed in a corner. Or a horse, what with the giggle that was then emitted from the other.

“Ahhh, I guess you caught me, Mr. Hero,” Ouma said.

“What is this…? Some roleplay? Anyway, I got you,” Momota said, closing his eyes in exasperation, “so hand over the jacket.” He outstretched a hand, expecting Ouma to give up like he usually did at these points. However, what met his hand was not the fibrous texture of his jacket, but instead… another hand?

Momota snapped his eyes open to find, indeed, Ouma’s hand in his. Big violet eyes gazed into his own with much mischievous innocence. Bursting red, Momota immediately retracted his own hand with a cut-off yelp, and Ouma took the opportunity to sprint around Momota.

“Awww, did Momota-chan get embarrassed?” Ouma called.

Momota spun around to find Ouma already making his escape. “Ouma, you little shit!” And he ran after him. Thus, the chase continued.

 

* * *

 

“So… Momota-kun, how long have you and Ouma-kun been dating?”

When the detective broke that question to him the next day at lunch, Momota almost spat out his drink. For a moment, Momota thought he might’ve been joking, but Saihara looked thoroughly serious with his question.

“Me? _Ouma_? We’re not dating!” Momota said, a bit too quickly.

Saihara blinked. “Oh. Okay.”

“Don’t give me that face! You don’t look convinced at all!”

In agitation, Momota took another sip from his can of caffeine, this time slower as an excuse to pause the conversation. He peeked at the table a couple down from theirs, where Ouma was chatting animatedly with Iruma, Amami, and Yonaga. At the square table, Ouma sat next to Amami while the girls next across from them. Momota looked almost in jealousy at the proximity between Ouma and Amami and almost spat out his drink again when Ouma suddenly latched onto the adventurer’s arm in a fit of crocodile tears, presumably from something Iruma said, judging by her nervous expression.

Okay. Maybe he wouldn’t mind if Saihara’s accusation was actually true. He couldn’t deny what he felt toward the supreme leader…

He set his coffee can down and watched Yonaga pull Ouma into a hug, stroking his head, as Iruma stood up and pointed a finger at them, bellowing something along the lines of “W-Well, I’m right! He needs to stop being a wussy and just do it already!” whatever the context of that was. Amami stayed seated, chuckling hesitantly at them.

Even though Momota and Ouma had been getting closer the past few weeks, Momota still couldn’t tell what exactly their relationship was. Rivals, they definitely were at first. They bickered and argued and even had a fair share of detentions together. But over time, their insults softened, and Momota found the aversion in his heart turn into something akin to fondness. He hated it. He hated how Ouma practically had him wrapped around his finger now, flushing over his every flirtatious display. And what made it worse was that Momota couldn’t tell whether Ouma was being serious or just messing with hi—

Momota’s view was suddenly interrupted by a flash of pink and magenta. His eyes instinctively followed it to realize it was Akamatsu, who slid into the seat across from Saihara with her lunch tray. Harukawa was close behind, taking the seat in front of Momota which obstructed his previous view.

Recognizing the disappointment on Momota’s face, Harukawa quirked a brow. “Sorry, should I move?”

“Huh? Oh, no, no!” Momota frantically waved his hands. “You can stay there, Harumaki! Sorry, I just zoned out for a bit, haha.”

Ignoring Momota, Harukawa turned her neck. “Oh.” She turned to look at him again, her eyes unamused. At Harukawa’s reaction, Akamatsu also took a peek and a smile spread across her face when she also fit the pieces together.

“Ouma-kun again?” Akamatsu said.

“Momota, you are hopeless,” Harukawa added, taking a sip of her drink. “Why don’t you just tell him?”

Akamatsu’s eyes went wide. “Huh? They’re not dating?”

“ _No_!” Momota spluttered. “Do we really look like we are?!”

“Momota-kun,” Saihara said, “didn’t Ouma-kun go into your dorm room the other night?”

“Well. He did, but—”

“Eh?! You spent the night together?” Akamatsu cried.

The exclamation caused heads to turn to their table. From the slot between Akamatsu and Harukawa, Momota caught a glimpse of the members of Ouma’s table also looking at them. Momota immediately looked down, pressing his forehead to his palm and sighing deeply into the table.

Everyone went back to their own business after Akamatsu apologized for the outburst. Akamatsu sheepishly smiled at Momota. “Sorry, I didn’t think that would be so loud.”

Momota waved a hand. “It’s fine. But for real, that… nothing happened. He said there was a monster hiding under his bed and wouldn’t leave no matter how much I told him to. So I didn’t have a choice.” He rubbed his head. “What a little shit.” The words came out annoyed, but there was tenderness laced through them. Catching them, Saihara and Akamatsu smiled and Harukawa sighed.

“Awww, who’s a little shit?” came a particularly eager voice.

Momota nearly jumped out of his seat in surprise, and Saihara scooted away to avoid getting hit. “Ouma?!”

“Oh, I’m the little shit? Wow! You’re such a flatterer, Momota-chan!” Ouma said, grinning from ear to ear.

“W-When did you get here?!” Momota spluttered.

“Hm, that is a mystery,” Ouma said, looking at his nails.

“Look. If you’re here to get Momota, just take him already. I’d prefer you be out of my presence as soon as possible,” Harukawa spoke.

Ouma snickered. “So cold, Harukawa-chan~ But you saw through me! Momota-chan, we’re going on a date. Let’s go!”

“Huh?! Right now?”

“You’re more surprised about the timing than the ‘date’ part…?” Saihara said.

Ouma gripped onto Momota’s arm and pulled him out of his chair. With Ouma’s considerably smaller stature, Momota could’ve easily shaken him off, but he let himself be dragged toward the exit of the cafeteria.

“Uh— I’ll see you guys in class!” Momota called, though sounding unsure. The last thing he saw before they left was the supportive smiles on his friends’ faces and Ouma’s group also looking at the pair with knowing beams. The latter wasn’t a good sign.

Ouma was oddly quiet when they were out of the cafeteria. Momota wanted to open his mouth to say something, but every time he did, he closed it again.

The hallway was barren, just the two of them waltzing down it. Momota could hear a few classes in session and the chatter of the students within those classrooms, but between just Ouma and him, silence.

Despite his nerves, Momota cleared his throat. “Hey, Ouma, where are we going?” Momota swore he saw Ouma flinch just the slightest bit.

“Hm? We’re taking a walk. Jeez, Momota-chan, don’t you even know something as simple as that?” Ouma said.

Momota scoffed. “Well, you’re being quiet.”

“Hmm? Does Momota-chan like my voice that much?” Ouma said. Since they left the cafeteria, Ouma turned around to look at Momota for the first time. He wore a soft smile, and Momota hated how it made his heart flip in the grossest way.

Ouma was messing with him. He teased him so much and got him all riled up and made Momota feel the weirdest emotions, ones so foreign yet so precious. He hated it, but he wanted to feel this way forever. Momota wanted to say _yes_ to Ouma’s question, even if it was a joke, but because of his pride, he clicked his tongue and said instead, “You wish.”

Ouma hummed and finally let go of Momota’s wrist. “Let’s have another run. You’re the cat and I’m the mouse. Ready, set…!”

Momota didn’t have time to react. “W-Wait, what?!”

“Go!”

Ouma shot off down the hallway. With no other option, Momota chased after him.

Their chase this time felt different. Usually, there’d be other loitering students as their audience, but right now, it was just the two of them. As always, Ouma had the stamina of a horse, which was a pretty fitting comparison to his whole character. Momota soon recognized the route they were taking to be the same as the one they took yesterday. They ran up the same flight of stairs, around the same corner, down the same hallway, and when they neared the turn that led to the dead end, Ouma curved in.

He couldn’t have already forgotten about the dead end, right? But Momota followed him in anyway. When he caught up, he saw Ouma standing at the end with a pout.

“Man, you are sooo slow,” Ouma said. “You’re so mean for standing me up!”

“It was barely a few seconds!” Momota retorted. “So…” He observed their surroundings. This was probably a pretty abandoned corner. It was nothing special and empty, with the exception of the single window that was their source of light. “What did you lead me here for?”

Ouma’s expression suddenly goes flat. In the past, Momota would’ve been intimidated by the lack of emotion on the other’s usually expressive face, and he still was. But over time, he learned this was the face Ouma wore when he was pensive. His own face also relaxed, and suddenly Ouma’s smiling again.

“I just wanted you to chase me, Momota-chan.”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” Momota said.

“You know, to test your loyalty,” Ouma said. “It’s sooo hard to trust people nowadays.” If Momota didn’t know better, he’d think Ouma was back to his default annoying self. Despite the shorter’s cheery tone, Momota couldn’t shake off the tense atmosphere in the air.

Momota closed his eyes, scratching his head. “Ouma, could you not do that?”

“Do what?”

“Act like I’m something special. It… It’s not funny, dude. Even if you think of it as some joke, I don’t,” Momota confessed. His conflicting emotions from the past few weeks rise to his chest, spilling out the word he’d been wanting to say. He feared he was overreacting, but he couldn’t help what he felt. “I take it seriously.”

Ouma’s face had gone taut as he listened to Momota. “Who said I’m joking?”

Momota’s eyes widened. “You…”

“I mean everything I say, Momota-chan,” Ouma said. “They’re not a lie. Neither is what I’m saying now. I wanted you to chase me because I didn’t want to feel like I’m the only one chasing you.” He smiled. “Does that mean Momota-chan also wants to get married?”

Momota breathed out. “It’s too early to get married, dumbass.” His face was red; he knew it was, but so was Ouma’s, and if they were both in the same boat, he supposed he wouldn’t mind showing an embarrassing side. Just this once.

He moved closer to Ouma and wrapped an arm around him, pulling him into his chest. At first, Ouma looked puzzled, but he quickly relaxed into his embrace. Softly, Momota spoke, “Ouma, I…”

The bell chose that moment to ring, its repetition leaving Momota no choice but to accept their fate.

He pulled away, albeit reluctantly and grumbled. “Always the worst timing.”

Ouma giggled, still red-cheeked. “Race you to the classroom!”

“Don’t decide like that so suddenly!” But Momota caught up with Ouma, and they hastened down the hall, side by side.

**Author's Note:**

> so this story is a prize fic for a winner of a challenge i hosted on dr amino & i wanted to post it here too! here's [my amino](http://aminoapps.com/p/9lj7nm) in case any of you wanna follow me on there. 
> 
> have a good day, everyone!


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